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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26008726">Taste of summer</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweeternong/pseuds/sweeternong'>sweeternong</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>格格不入 - the playlist [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NINE PERCENT (Band), 偶像练习生 | Idol Producer (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Attempt at Humor, Break Up, I'm Sorry, Kinda, M/M, Swearing, Yanjun is dumb, mention of baldness, please pretend that it's funny</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:35:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,373</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26008726</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweeternong/pseuds/sweeternong</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Exams are over and Zhangjing couldn't wait to spend the summer with his friends and most importantly his long term boyfriend, Lin Yanjun.</p><p>But of course, not all plan can run smoothly as Yanjun decided to break up with him the moment summer holiday starts.</p><p>'I’m sorry let’s break up'</p><p>If Yanjun thought that he could break up with Zhangjing over a damn text without explanation then oh boy, he better be prepared.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Cai Xukun/Zhu Zhengting | Jung Jung, Fan Chengcheng/Huang Minghao | Justin, Lin Yanjun/You Zhangjing, Minor or Background Relationship(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>格格不入 - the playlist [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1915309</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Taste of summer</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello~ This is your newbie author sweeternong. I'm kind of new to this fandom so please bear with me I tried my best. It's 2020 and I don't want zdj to die so here I am doing the job of being your content provider. Hope you enjoy!!!</p><p>This ff is written as part of the wenjun cult (cuties) monthsary ff fest &lt;333</p><p>(Note: this work is betaed by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/fictional_encryption/pseuds/dropsof_insanity">dropsof_insanity</a> please also check her work when you have time &lt;3)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Zhangjing couldn’t believe this.</p><p>The event happened two days ago but he still couldn’t get over the shock. He still couldn’t believe that it was real.</p><p>He still couldn’t believe that Lin Yanjun, his boyfriend of 10 years and his best friend/crush for even more than that, had broken up with him over a fucking text.</p><p>A FUCKING TEXT</p><p>And no, it wasn’t a long, dramatic text explaining in detail why they broke up, no, none of that. It was literally a one line message sent through Wechat that said:</p><p>
  <em>I’m sorry let’s break up</em>
</p><p>Zhangjing deserved better than that. He knew he did. He needed to know why Yanjun decided to end everything but, Yanjun’s cowardly ass had been avoiding him for past two days.</p><p>Summer holidays had just started and Zhangjing had so many events planned. He had even made a whole schedule of all the fun things they could do; swimming in the beach, going on a trip with Nongnong, just lazing around while eating ice cream at home.</p><p>All the fun things that unfortunately involved Yanjun and now that the man had broken up with him, he literally didn’t know what to do with himself anymore.</p><p>Exams were stressful and this list was Zhangjing’s only motivation to complete them, but now all the time he spent daydreaming of the fun summer had gone to waste.</p><p>God, Zhangjing wanted a refund and also to slap Yanjun’s face because he deserved it.</p><p>
  <em>Deng dai zheng ge dong tian~</em>
</p><p>Zhangjing glanced up from where he was sleeping face down on the bed. Goddamn he forgot to change his phone ringtone. Hearing Yanjun’s voice right now singing the first song he had composed and recorded for Zhangjing really made him boil with anger.</p><p>Whoever had called him better be prepared for some screaming.</p><p>
  <em>Xian zai-</em>
</p><p>“Who is this?”</p><p>Zhangjing tried to control himself for a bit just in case the one calling was someone he would regret yelling at (read: Justin and Nongnong) and thank god he did.</p><p>“you zhangpang you haven’t been answering my text! We are going to the swimming pool do you want to join?”</p><p>Justin’s voice ran from the other side of the call and Zhangjing’s mood immediately lightened up despite the insult the younger just threw at him. It was said so often, at this point he didn’t even get offended anymore.</p><p>“I’m sorry xiao jia, I’m not feeling that well,”</p><p>Zhangjing was never a great liar and knowing how sensitive the other boy is, he must have picked up Zhangjing’s lie on the spot.</p><p>“What’s wrong ge?”</p><p>Justin asked seriously. All the playful tone he had on before immediately vanished. Zhangjing knew there was no escaping this.</p><p>Zhangjing hadn't told anyone about the breakup-over-a-single-text thing to anyone. Summer holiday had just started two days ago after a long stressful week of exams and he really didn’t want to burden anyone with his problems when they were finally stress free for the first time in a while.</p><p>“It really is nothing, xiao bao bei,”</p><p>Zhangjing tried to convince the younger but he knew that once Justin set his mind on something, he would never back down from it.</p><p>“Oh yea? Then you will have no problem letting us in, right?”</p><p>Zhangjing’s eyes immediately widened at the younger’s request and not even a second passed before the sound of his doorbell rang throughout the whole house.</p><p>“Us?! What do you mean us?”</p><p>Zhangjing said in panic when he started hearing his friends shouting his name, complaining about not being let in.</p><p>“Not much eh just me, Cheng, Ziyi-ge, Ting-ge and Kun-ge,”</p><p>‘Not much huh?’ Zhangjing thought sarcastically. A whole ass five people were standing out of his door, literally half of his friend group. If that’s not ‘much’ then Zhangjing doesn’t know what much is.</p><p>“Let us in quickly!”</p><p>Justin shouted so loud that Zhangjing could actually hear his voice not through the phone. </p><p>Knowing that he was trapped, Zhangjing finnally gave up and made his way down from his bedroom on the second floor to let his friends in.</p><p>“AGh finally! Ge, its too hot outside,” Chengcheng complained loudly as he entered through the door. Just because Zhangjing opened the door didn’t mean he let them in but really, manners weren’t really a thing between them anymore and dropping by each other’s house unannounced wasn’t new.</p><p>“Why are you all here?” Zhangjing asked as his friend walked towards the living room. Chengcheng was already sprawled like a starfish on the couch while Zhengting and Ziyi went to the kitchen to fetch some drinks. Xukun and Justin were already seated on the other unoccupied sofa, both busy with something on their phone.</p><p>They really act like this is their own house.</p><p>“What are you guys doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be swimming?”</p><p>Zhangjing asked again, this time slightly pissed after being ignored the first time. He was once again met with silence.</p><p>“Ehem,”</p><p>Zhangjing coughed to gain his friends’ attention but they were once again ignoring him.</p><p>“EHEM,”</p><p>Zhangjing coughed louder this time and Xukun finally glanced up from his phone to look at him. Justin, the one who originally seemed so insistent on getting in, was still busy doing something on his phone.</p><p>“We’re not swimming?”</p><p>Xukun asked back dumbly and Zhangjing just gave him a blank stare which the other boy returned.</p><p>The staring contest continued on for a few more minutes before Zhangjing finally had enough.</p><p>“Justin Huang Minghao get off your phone and answer me right now,”</p><p>Zhangjing never called Justin by his English name or his Chinese name or both of them at the same time but when he does, it means serious talk.</p><p>“Aye, aye wait captain just a bit more. You made me wait too long I just started playing,” Justin said without glancing up but Zhangjing had had enough. He quickly walked towards the younger boy and snatched the phone out of his hands much to the younger’s protest.</p><p>“GE! What are you doing?!” Justin’s whines. His whine was usually super effective against Zhangjing but right now, it had no effect on the currently angry and broken hearted Zhangjing who seemed to have lost all forms of kindness.</p><p>“IF YOU WANT TO PLAY THE GAME THEN JUST-”</p><p>Zhangjing didn’t know what hit him that moment but he just started breaking down in front of Justin before he could finish his sentence.</p><p>“Wahhh, Ge, What’s wrong?”</p><p>Justin was immediately on his side the moment Zhangjing started kneeling on the floor to cry. The younger was holding both of his shoulders and was shaking them lightly.</p><p>God, he chose such a bad time to start breaking down. What was the point of hiding from his friends for two days if he was just going to start crying in front of them all of a sudden?</p><p>Zhangjing hated his own mind sometimes. During fragile times like this, it always tried to add up even more pain to himself.</p><p>It may be the fact that Justin showed concern but then acted like he didn’t care; it may be the way Xukun and Chengcheng didn’t understand that there was something going on with him.</p><p>Or maybe it was just the fact that almost everyone in their squad is here, except his other half, who was supposed to be with him all the time.</p><p>Zhangjing knew the first two reasons weren’t the cause of his crying but he really just wanted someone to blame his weakness to, someone who wasn’t himself.</p><p>“HUANG MINGHAO, FAN CHENGCHENG, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?”</p><p>Zhangjing could hear Zhengting screaming at the two youngest in between his loud sobs. Not a moment passed before he felt a pair of strong arms hugging him.</p><p>Zhangjing knew that those arms must belong to Zhengting because Xukun and Ziyi are awkward 1 and awkward 2 who never knew what to do when someone was crying like crazy in front of them.</p><p>It couldn’t also belong to Justin and Chengcheng because they were misunderstood by Zhengting and said man was probably currently trying his best to shove those two as far as possible while still hugging him.</p><p>“I swear ge, I did nothing. For real,”</p><p>Justin pleaded helplessly at Zhengting who was angrily kicking him and Chengcheng, preventing the two of them from approaching. Xukun and Ziyi were till standing at their original position on the side, clearly pondering whether they should risk getting themselves kicked by approaching or not.</p><p>After some time, Zhengting eventually gave up on kicking, probably exhausted and the six of them were just hugging Zhangjing who was now silently crying in the middle.</p><p>However, since there were 5 of them and only one Zhangjing, only Justin and Zhengting were actually hugging him, while Xukun was hugging Zhengting (ew couples) and Chengcheng was clinging on Justin (ew couples 2) and Ziyi, well Ziyi was hugging both Xukun and Chengcheng since that was his only option.</p><p>Minutes passed quietly with occasional choking sound from Zhangjing and calming words from Justin and Zhengting before Zhangjing was eventually calm enough to finally speak again.</p><p>“I’m sorry for suddenly crying,” Zhangjing said once he had calmed down and everyone slowly started untangling themselves from each other, except for Xukun who was still latching onto Zhengting like a koala when it was completely unnecessary, because well, Xukun is clingy.</p><p>“It’s fine ge! Crying once in a while is good for your body,” Justin said with a smile and Zhangjing smiled back at him. There was a reason why he was Zhangjing’s favorite xiao bao bei.</p><p>“Do you want to tell us what happened?” Justin asked slowly. Zhangjing knew there was no avoiding this. They all would eventually find out anyway since Yanjun and Zhangjing share the same friend group and they were practically joined a hip so everyone was bound to notice a thing or two sooner or later.</p><p>Zhangjing took a deep breath and using all the courage he could muster, finally spoke,</p><p>“Me and Yanjun broke up,”</p><p>There, Zhangjing finally dropped the bomb. The news must be so shocking that he was only met with silence and gaping faces, even Xukun who was previously busy nosing Zhengting’s neck (again, completely unnecessary) was currently staring at Zhangjing while looking like a fish out of water.</p><p>‘ah here we go,’ Zhangjing thought before mentally counting down.</p><p>Three. Two. O-</p><p>“WHAT?” All five of them shouted at once and it sounded terrifyingly loud. Zhangjing had to cover both of his ears to prevent himself from going deaf.</p><p>“MY OTP NOOOOOOO, TRUE LOVE IS NOT REAL,” Chengcheng said dramatically before dropping down on the floor and starting to rolling around. Justin just stared at his boyfriend with a why-did-I-date-this-kid kind of expression before diverting his attention back to his gege.</p><p>“What happened?” The younger asked, voice laced with concern. Zhangjin doesn’t like seeing the younger looking sad so he averted his gaze to the right only to be met with Zhengting who was looking at him with the same kind of expression.</p><p>Zhangjing didn’t need to turn to his left to see that Ziyi must be wearing the same expression. He really was lucky to get a group of friends who genuinely care about him.</p><p>“I don’t know either. Two days ago, he just sent me a text saying that he wants to break up. He didn’t even explain what was wrong,” Zhangjing started to get teary again at the reminder of Yanjun’s text. The other man still hadn't replied to any of his texts nor had he answered any of his calls.</p><p>He didn’t even come back home to collect all his stuff and that was why Zhangjing had spent two days locking himself away at home in hope that he could confront the man himself when he finally came home to get his stuff.</p><p>But Yanjun didn’t come home. He must have hated Zhangjing so much that he doesn’t want to see him anymore.</p><p>“Husssh, You Zhangjing don’t cry for Yanjun again. We will help you look for him tomorrow okay?” Zhengting said, already moving to hug Zhangjing again much to Xukun’s disappointment. This time, Zhangjing also moved his arms to hug Zhengting back, clinging to him like a koala.</p><p>“Do you want us to stay over? We can ditch swimming and hang out here instead!” Zhengting said enthusiastically. He really knew how to cheer someone up.</p><p>“Yes! Damn Lin Yanjun who needs him when I have you guys,” Zhangjing said with a smile before flopping back to the couch behind him.</p><p>Screw Lin Yanjun, if he doesn’t want to see him then that is his choice. Zhangjing is so done chasing after him.</p><p>❁❀❁</p><p>Zhangjing lives in a room where there is only one bedroom with only one king-sized bed (yes, he and Yanjun sleep in the same room and on the same bed) and one guest bedroom so there was no way six grown up, almost gigantic, men could all fit in those two bedrooms.</p><p>And that was how the six of them decided to just sleep in the living room, on top of the expensive fluffy rug that Yanjun had insisted on buying. Thank God, Zhangjing, though with much hesitation, had agreed to buying it or else the six of them would suffer a much worse back pain the next day.</p><p>Sleeping arrangement aside, the second problem came from the fact that all his friends are so big, much bigger than Zhangjing and even Yanjun himself which means that it would be difficult to find comfortable sleepwear for them amongst both Zhangjing’s and Yanjun’s collection.</p><p>“You guys didn’t bring any change of clothes?” Zhangjing asked as he scrambled through his wardrobe to find some oversized shirts for his friends.</p><p>“Well, we do but they’re swim trunks, unless you want us to wear them to sleep?” Justin asked back, voice laced with fake confusion that in Zhangjing’s opinion sounded more like teasing than any other thing. It was a torturous inside joke, and Zhangjing regrets ever getting drunk in front of the younger.</p><p>The accident happened half a year ago and a drunk Zhangjing (and Zhengting) had accidentally confessed to Justin (who somehow has a high alcohol tolerance) that they think Ziyi looks so hot when he was shirtless and that amongst everyone, he had the best body.</p><p>Zhangjing thank all the gods out there that although he was drunk, he still knew how to not run his mouth too much because unlike Zhangjing who stopped at describing how good Ziyi’s body is, Zhengting went as far as saying that Xukun’s body is no match for Ziyi.</p><p>Zhangjing could still remember the great fight that ensued afterwards, the dramatic shouting the next day and the breakup that lasted for five minutes before the two started making out. He wished he didn’t still remember the event as if it just happened yesterday.</p><p>
  <em>“If you like Ziyi so much then why don’t you just date him?!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“It wasn’t like that Kunkun, I was drunk! You should know better that I love you the most in this world!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Everyone made a gagging sound when they heard Zhengting say those lines. It was so cringey.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Let’s just break up,” Xukun finally said before turning around to walk towards the door. That was the final straw before Zhengting started screaming.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“You fucking asshole you are breaking up on me just because of this?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“It was a one-time thing for god’s sake and I never said anything when you were eyeing other guys,”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Now, that was a lie. Everyone knows how easily jealous Zhengting can get from time to time, the other man was probably even worse than Xukun himself. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Zhangjing couldn’t count the number of times Zhengting would start clinging to Xukun or kiss him out of nowhere just to show the world that the man is taken. He feels nauseous just thinking about it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Somewhere in between the shouting, Zhengting had started crying and stomping angrily at the ground. Justin and Zhangjing really wanted to comfort the other man at the moment, but they were also scared that Zhengting would beat them up for even trying to come close.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It was at that moment that Xukun had had enough of Zhengting’s screaming.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“God this is why we broke up; all you can do is talk. Will you ever shut up?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“No, I won’t, unless you make me!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Zhangjing wished he had prepared eye bleach for what was about to happen. He had always thought that this kind of thing could only happen in movies, those over dramatic movies with no realistic romantic plot at all. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>But then again Zhengting and Xukun had always been that dramatic couple that got jealous over the smallest thing and threatened each other to break up every other minute.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Xukun quickly approached Zhengting and held the other man in his arms before kissing him fiercely on the mouth to which the other man reciprocated with the same vigour.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Xiao gui and Chengcheng, who were previously watching with so much enthusiasm (they even pop out a bowl of popcorn out of nowhere) as if they were watching an Oscar-winning movie immediately dropped the popcorn they were eating, scattering them all over the floor.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The mischievous smiles were quickly wiped off their faces. Their eyes immediately widened and their mouths hung open before they belatedly realized that oh boy watching a makeout scene in real life was not as fun as when you were watching two strangers on doing it on screen.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The two of them quickly scrambled to get some blanket or pillows to cover their eyes and when they found none of them, the two quickly got on their feet and ran away towards the bathroom to hide.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Zhangjing immediately hid himself on Yanjun’s back and the other man was covering his eyes tightly using both of his hands. He didn’t need to glance to see that Justin and Ziyi were probably doing the same.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Minutes that stretched on like hours passed before Zhengting and Xukun got tired from their making out and they finally separated.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It wasn’t until much later that the four of them found out that they had stopped but then again, it was better to wait longer than opening their eyes earlier and having to watch them intensely making out. The sight might as well be Zhangjing’s sleep paralysis demon.</em>
</p><p>Zhangjing glared at the younger male who was still looking at him with that stupid teasing look and a wide grin. He wished that he could hate Justin but he couldn’t.</p><p>“Here, take this,” Zhangjing threw a grey hoodie that he had bought half a year ago during winter and Zhangjing had gained some weight from all the time spent laying around and eating snacks while binge watching dramas over the winter holiday.</p><p>Zhangjing was lucky that he had Ziyi as his friend, said man had panicked so much over his unhealthy habit while Ziyi was away visiting his family that he had become Zhangjing’s personal dietician for over a month and helped him lose at least 10kg of the weight he gained.</p><p>“Wow, there really is clothes my size here,”</p><p>Justin said in amazement and Zhangjing didn’t know whether he should be offended or not. He decided not to.</p><p>After scrolling through his and Yanjun’s shared wardrobe, Zhangjing was finally able to find a suitable sleepwear for everyone including Ziyi who was not only tall but also broad and has a large build in general.</p><p>Okay maybe not very suitable since Ziyi and Chengcheng looked a bit awkward with those slightly too tight and too short pants (They are Yanjun’s) but whatever, at least they were dressed. It was their fault for coming in unannounced anyway.</p><p>“Let’s call Xiao gui and Linong before we start watching, maybe they want to watch together with us!”</p><p>Zhangjing had no idea how they could get Linong and Xiao gui to watch shows together with them but he just went along with the idea because Zhangjing knew that Linong tends to feel left out if he wasn’t included in their hangouts.</p><p>Zhangjing wasn't sure whether the rest of his friend group realized this but seeing how they always unconsciously try to include everyone in their activities, Zhangjing was just glad that being inclusive wasn’t something that they should explicitly talk about.</p><p>“HEY NONGNONG,”</p><p>Chengcheng and Justin had screamed so loud when their video call was finally connected to Linong which made the other boy let out an excited minion-like laugh.</p><p>Linong joined their friend group just a year ago. The boy had moved here from Taiwan to pursue higher study in China.</p><p>Linong had told them earlier this month that he would be spending a month of the summer vacation in his hometown in Taiwan but had promised to keep in touch with the rest of them throughout the whole period.</p><p>“What are you guys doing right now?”</p><p>Zhangjing was a bit surprised that Linong’s initial reaction wasn’t to ask what everyone was doing in Zhangjing’s house but he figured that either Chengcheng or Justin had snitched out on him beforehand so that the younger boy wouldn’t have to ask again and thus avoiding an awkward situation.</p><p>“We are about to watch a movie! Do you want to join?”</p><p>Zhengting said with much enthusiasm which once again Linong responded to with a hearty laugh.</p><p>“Of course, of course,”</p><p>“Okay then we will call you back later after we call Xiao gui, bye,”</p><p>The six of them waved at the screen before Linong ended the call so they could call Xiao gui instead.</p><p>Justin told them that they had invited Xiao gui to go swimming with them earlier today but the younger had furiously declined the offer because his parents had apparently asked him to come home today because they missed their son.</p><p>“Why isn’t he picking up?”</p><p>Zhengting asked after the ringing sound had echoed a few times but Xiao gui still hadn’t picked the call up.</p><p>“Maybe he is talk-“</p><p>“Hey guys what’s up?”</p><p>Everyone’s disappointment was immediately erased once they heard Xiao gui’s voice through the speaker.</p><p>They had initially video called the boy but the other had refused the video call and was currently just doing audio call with them.</p><p>“Gui, turn on the video call, we want to see you,”</p><p>Chengcheng said and was about to press the video call button when Xiao gui’s panicked voice suddenly rang through the speaker.</p><p>“Wait no, I can’t video call right now,” Xiao gui said hurriedly much to everyone’s confusion.</p><p>“I can’t video call right now, I’m uhh- my parents are with me,”</p><p>Zhangjing didn’t knew why but he could clearly hear Xiao gui’s lie and judging by the way everyone looked at each other, they must have noticed it too.</p><p>“I’m sure your parents won’t mind seeing us, they already know about us, right?”</p><p>Ziyi asked and was met in silence that Zhangjing thought Xiao gui had ended the call.</p><p>“Hello? Gui are you still-”</p><p>“Hey, Xiao gui, it’s your turn to shower,”</p><p>All of them immediately stilled at the sound of the newcomer’s voice. It was a familiar voice, a voice that definitely didn’t belong to Xiao gui’s parents.</p><p>That was Lin Yanjun’s voice.</p><p>“Gui, is that-”</p><p>“Ah! I have to go shower now guys, byee,”</p><p>Xiao gui swiftly said before ending the call, leaving them with an awkward silence as they just stared at the tablet screen in disbelief.</p><p>Many thoughts were running through Zhangjing’s mind at the moment. He tried to make up many different conclusions to the current situation because he was afraid that his one initial and most likely conclusion was not real.</p><p>He didn’t want to believe that Yanjun was cheating on him with Xiao Gui.</p><p>“Okay, let’s call Linong back now, we are starting the movie,”</p><p>Xukun said and Zhengting just looked at him with a weirded-out expression since Xukun was never the one to be so eager on watching something. Zhangjing knew that the other man just didn’t want to prolong the current awkwardness.</p><p>Maybe Xukun was doing the right thing, maybe Zhangjing could distract himself by watching a movie.</p><p>He was wrong.</p><p>Zhangjing couldn’t focus throughout the entire movie, even as everyone’s laughter gradually filled the room, all Zhangjing could think of was the fact that his boyfriend, well ex now, was somewhere out there having the time of his life without him.</p><p>❁❀❁</p><p>The six of them watched three movies before the youngest duo finally got so sleepy that they fell asleep halfway through the fourth movie.</p><p>Seeing how peacefully the two were sleeping, the rest of them just decided to call it a day. Linong had also fallen asleep probably somewhere in the beginning of the fourth movie so they had ended the call for him.</p><p>Light snores quickly filled the living room. Justin and Chengcheng who were previously sleeping in a tamed position had somehow moved so that they were now in a very weird position around each other with Justin’s foot pressing on Chengcheng’d cheek while the other’s leg was pressed on top of the Justin’s stomach.</p><p>Ziyi, who was the resident rich kid and had probably never slept on the floor his whole life, had somehow managed to fall asleep on the hard, wooden floor just because he had a scary 8 hours sleeping habit just like those people from the GusuLan clan in the famous untamed series.</p><p>Zhengting and Xukun, well, they are Zhengting and Xukun and their requirement to get a good sleep were probably just having each other to cuddle against thus the two also had no problem falling asleep on the cold floor at the part of the room furthest from Zhangjing.</p><p>Zhangjing himself couldn’t sleep that well. The first reason was that he was not used to sleeping on the floor, having been used to sleeping comfortably on a latex mattress all his life before.</p><p>The second reason, and this was probably the main reason as well was because he had a lot of things in his mind, he replayed the event that had happened this afternoon. Yanjun staying somewhere, probably in a hotel, with Xiao gui and the two being secretive about it.</p><p>Yanjun, who Zhangjing had thought was avoiding him and his other friends to avoid awkwardness, was actually meeting Xiao gui behind his back.</p><p>Xiao gui who he thought was his loyal friend was actually Yanjun’s secret lover.</p><p>‘Damn you all,’ Zhangjing thought angrily as he got up from his spot and walked towards the kitchen to fetch some water for himself and probably snacked a bit to ease up him mind.</p><p>“Not now-” Zhangjing blinked twice at the sound of two people whispering that came from the direction of the kitchen.</p><p>‘I-is that a thief?’ Zhangjing thought as fear began to creep into his mind. If that really was a thief then he better go and call either Ziyi or Justin since they were the only two who probably stood a chance against a thief.</p><p>Zhangjing slowly crept towards the kitchen’s entrance. The kitchen light was off making it difficult to see any movements inside. The only source of lighting was the moonlight seeping through the window.</p><p>Using all the courage he could muster, Zhangjing dared himself to sneak a peek into the kitchen and oh boy he saw something scarier than a thief itself.</p><p>In the darkness of the kitchen, Zhangjing could barely make out two figures standing in front of each other, one figure was pressed against the wall and the other one was caging him.</p><p>Now, that was a weird position for some thieves to be in. Why did they act like they were a couple?</p><p>Zhangjing peeked his head deeper into the kitchen. He slowly grabbed the broom left by the window to defend himself in case the thieves noticed and attacked him.</p><p>Zhangjing was already raising the broom, ready to hit one of the men when he heard it,</p><p>“Xukun, we shouldn’t be doing this,”</p><p>Oh fuck. The two people weren’t thieves. They were Xukun and Zhengting who were so ready to do non pg-13 stuff in the dark.</p><p>Zhangjing really wanted to escape the place as quickly as possible but he could only be so quick in running away without the other two noticing him.</p><p>Zhangjing didn’t even get to take a step back before Xukun captured Zhengting’s lips using his own and started making, well umm, very uncomfortable sounds.</p><p>Now Zhangjing needs ear bleach too.</p><p>Another minute passed before Zhangjing was finally out of the kitchen. Once he deemed himself far enough, Zhangjing quickly sprinted towards the living room and hid back under the blanket.</p><p>‘This could have been me and Yanjun,’</p><p>Zhangjing sighed heavily at the thought. He had always thought that it was Yanjun who was the clingy one amongst the two of them. Now that they were separated, Zhangjing just realized that he was as clingy as the other man too.</p><p>Now, cursing Lin Yanjun until he fell asleep sounded like a much better option than getting a drink in the kitchen.</p><p>❁❀❁</p><p>Morning came and Zhangjing didn’t get an ounce of sleep.</p><p>Well, at some point in the night, Zhangjing was actually so close to falling asleep but that was the same time Fan Chengcheng decided to let out the biggest snore he could muster in contrary to the usual light snore he let out in every single one of their previous sleepovers.</p><p>Zhangjing thanked his self-control that had prevented himself from choking the other boy to death.</p><p>Zhangjing must have looked so horrible that morning with deep eyebags and messy hair but he was glad that everyone decided to ignore the fact just like how they ignored the fact that Xukun and Zhengting showed up to breakfast with swollen lips and poorly hidden hickeys.</p><p>Zhangjing, Justin and Zhengting cooked some breakfast together meanwhile Ziyi and Xukun prepared some hot coffee for everyone.</p><p>“Alright kids, time to eat,” Zhengting said as he brought the tray packed with bacon and pancakes towards the table.</p><p>Justin and Chengcheng began eating as soon as the tray touched the table. They didn’t even bother with plates or any other utensils, directly putting the bacon on the pancake before rolling it and eating it like a hotdog.</p><p>Zhangjing took his spot next to Ziyi who was looking at the sight in front of him with an indescribable face. It was a mixture of horror and disgust which Zhangjing was sure was directed more towards the unhealthy food in front of him rather than the duos.</p><p>Ziyi was probably currently making up a whole fitness routine to make up for all the fats he was about to consume.</p><p>Zhangjing let out a little laugh when he saw Ziyi’s reluctant expression as Zhengting shoved a plate of pancake loaded with maple syrup and bacon. Ziyi might be a bit of health freak sometimes but he could never say no to his friends so with the best neutral expression he could muster, Ziyi began eating his share of breakfast.</p><p>“Goodbye guys, see you again,”</p><p> Zhangjing said as he waved off his friends through the front door. They had offered to stay one more day to hang out together but Zhangjing had refused. He needed some time alone anyway.</p><p>But Zhangjing’s extroverted ass literally couldn’t stand staying home alone any longer. He had stayed in this place for two days already and it was a miracle that he hadn’t destroyed the house out of anger already.</p><p>After pondering what to do for the rest of the day, Zhangjing finally decided that he would just go and take a stroll in the mall. There were many things to see there plus binge shopping didn’t sound so bad when he was stressed anyway.</p><p>Zhangjing took a quick shower, picked some nice clothes and applied a bit of makeup before he decided that he looked presentable enough to go to the mall.</p><p>The drive to the mall took quite some time since Zhangjing decided to visit a rather far away mall instead of the one near his home because it reminded him of Yanjun a lot.</p><p>They used to spend every weekend there just eating good food and window shopping since Yanjun was someone who would prefer staying home than going out but would not hesitate to get out of his comfort zone just to make Zhangjing happy.</p><p>‘You Zhangjing stop thinking about him,’ Zhangjing thought angrily as he stomped out of his car, slamming the car door a bit too hard that the passersby near him jumped a little.</p><p>The mall was big and Zhangjing was unfamiliar with the stores. He had probably visited this mall only one or two times before just because the kids insisted since they got bored of the usual one.</p><p>“How much is this one?”</p><p>‘Huh?’ Zhangjing hoped that he wasn’t hallucinating. It wouldn’t be funny if he was but he could swear that he had heard Xiao gui’s voice just now.</p><p>“How about this one?”</p><p>Zhangjing glanced to his left and sure enough there stood none other than Xiao gui himself, making his ways pass rows of…..wigs?</p><p>‘Huh?’</p><p>What the hell is Xiao gui doing in a wig shop? Zhangjing knew that hair loss is a problem in China but he had never expected one of his friends would be losing their hair so soon.</p><p>“Xiao gui?” Zhangjing called the younger men who was standing in front of the cashier, ready to pay for the two wigs he had just bought.</p><p>He tried to keep his voice as neutral as possible. Zhangjing had to restrain himself from screaming at the younger man for being such a traitor.</p><p>But it seemed that he was slowly failing at his plan of staying calm as he saw Xiao gui looking startled and panicked at the sight of Zhangjing in front of him.</p><p>“Y-you Zhangjing? What are you doing here?”</p><p>Xiao gui said, moving his hands rapidly as he tried to hide the wig he just bought from Zhangjing’s sight.</p><p>“What are you buying?” Zhangjing asked with fake innocence that Xiao gui could quickly sense which make the younger man panic even more.</p><p>“I’m not- oh yes, I’m buying wigs for Yan- for myself,” Xiao gui stuttered so much that Zhangjing became even more furious. This man had been lying to him, pretending to be his friend and still has the guts to hide more things now?</p><p>“What do you need wigs for?” Zhangjing was actually curious as to why Xiao gui had bought wigs because he couldn’t formulate a reason to connect the reason behind buying a wig and dating Yanjun.</p><p>Did they plan to date while wearing wigs thinking that Zhangjing wouldn’t realize?</p><p>“Ah it’s for me! I’m planning to dye my hair mint so I’m buying black wig to cover it when I’m in the campus,”</p><p>Their campus didn’t ban hair dye so Zhangjing had no idea why Xiao gui was using a made-up rule to lie as if Zhangjing wouldn’t realize.</p><p>“Oh, then why do you buy a silver one then?” Xiao gui looked more and more panicked as Zhangjing asked more questions. He looked like he wished he could disappear any moment.</p><p>“This is for myself!” Xiao gui half shouted. He was looking around the spot Zhangjing was standing, trying to find a way to sneak out of the store.</p><p>“Why-“</p><p>“Hello? Who is this?” Just as Zhangjing was about to throw another question, Xiao gui’s phone suddenly rang. He could literally heard the younger’s relief as he answered the phone call.</p><p>“Ah, oh ok yes, You Zhangjing I need to go now bye,”</p><p>Xiao gui said with excitement as he exited the store and as soon as he stepped his foot outside of the store, the younger immediately sprinted as far as possible.</p><p>Xiao gui may be able to escape him for now but Zhangjing swore he would corner the younger again one day.</p><p>❁❀❁</p><p>Zhangjing didn’t end up continuing his plan of binge shopping in the mall after his encounter with Xiao gui. He wasn’t in the mood anymore anyway.</p><p>He immediately went home angrily, speeding his way through the roads, driving like a maniac. Zhangjing swore he was a lawful driver but just today he didn’t feel like being one.</p><p>For the first time since he started driving, Zhangjing received two speeding tickets on his way home from a supposedly thirty minutes’ drive which was much shortened to a fifteen minutes one.</p><p>Fuck, he didn’t even get to eat any lunch.</p><p>It was currently 7:30 pm and Zhangjing was so hungry from all the angry crying he did all afternoon which had ended up with him being asleep on the couch.</p><p>He decided to just buy his favorite corn dog and some chips from the convenience store nearby to satisfy his hungry stomach.</p><p>Not caring about his messy appearance, Zhangjing quickly put on some slippers and made his way out of the house, towards the convenience store.</p><p>Halfway through the walk, Zhangjing had finally regained some self-conscience and realized that with all the messy hair and red eyes he must have looked pretty horrible. He quickly pulled up his hoodie and tightened it to cover his face.</p><p>Zhangjing just hoped that he didn’t look remotely close to a criminal.</p><p>This walk to the convenience store must have been fate as just when Zhangjing was about to enter the store, he saw a familiar dimpled man wearing a beanie leaving the store.</p><p>Lin fucking Yanjun had just left the store and said man didn’t realize that Zhangjing was there, gawping at him like an idiot.</p><p>Without thinking further, Zhangjing immediately sprinted after him and when he was close enough, Zhangjing took a deep breath and using all his power, he screamed;</p><p>“LIN YANJUN YOU COWARD FUCKING STOP THERE,” And just like what Zhangjing had commanded, Yanjun immediately stopped in his spot. His eyes turned into saucers at the sight of Zhangjing sprinting towards him like a mad bull.</p><p>But that only lasted a split second before Yanjun began sprinting away from Zhangjing. He was running so fast that items started dropping from his already full grocery bag. Yanjun couldn’t care less at the moment.</p><p>“LIN YANJUN YOU BETTER STOP,”</p><p>Zhangjing screamed his lungs out but the other man wouldn’t stop running.</p><p>Neither of them were sporty people. They both got tired easily but the Yanjun in front of him seemed to suddenly gain the abilities of an Olympic marathon runner with how fast he was running right now.</p><p>Zhangjing began to panic. He couldn’t catch up to Yanjun and he was running out of breath but he knew that if he lets the man go now, it would be difficult to find him again.</p><p>Suddenly, an idea popped into Zhangjing’s mind. A stupid idea but that was the only thing he could do now.</p><p>Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, Zhangjing started preparing himself for what was about to come. Fuck, he was kind of scared. This better be worth it.</p><p>‘If he still loves me then he will stop,’ Zhangjing thought as he tripped himself on purpose and fell onto the ground with a loud thump.</p><p>It was painful. The fall was painful. Zhangjing’s knees were throbbing painfully from the sudden fall that he might not be able to walk properly the next day.</p><p>Nevertheless, the sight he saw when he finally looked up from where he was lying on the ground was worth it.</p><p>Lin Yanjun had stopped running away from him. In fact, he was currently running back towards Zhangjing with a worried look on his face.</p><p>Yanjun’s eyebrows were furrowed deeply and his smile was downturned into a frown. None of the previously panicked and scared expressions were visible. The Yanjun in front of him was just the usual over worried Yanjun.</p><p>“Finally!” Zhangjing said as he grabbed onto the other man’s arm. Yanjun didn’t even try to brush him off, a total opposite of all his actions of avoiding Zhangjing for the past three days.</p><p>Yanjun moved one of his hands to Zhangjing’s back and the other to below Zhangjing’s knee. He was planning to carry Zhangjing bridal style towards the seats in front of the store but Zhangjing knew the other man didn’t have enough arm strength to do that.</p><p>“No need, no need. Just help me walk,” Zhangjing said and Yanjun just nodded before he flung one of Zhangjing’s arm across his shoulder while putting his other arm on Zhangjing’s back. The two then slowly walked towards one of the seats in front of the store.</p><p>“Wait here, I’ll get something to treat the wound’” Yanjun said. He immediately walked into the store before Zhangjing could say anything back.</p><p>Not gonna lie, Zhangjing was lowkey enjoying the attention that Yanjun was currently giving him. Don’t blame him, he had been starved of his soulmate for three days and it was painful.</p><p>Few minutes passed before Yanjun exited the store with a plastic bag filled with disinfectant, some cottons and band aids.</p><p>“This might hurt a bit okay,” Yanjun said as he applied some disinfectant on the wound on Zhangjing’s knees. Zhangjing was glad that he decided to wear a long-sleeved hoodie for his walk or else his arms and elbows would have been wounded too.</p><p>Yanjun worked quickly on cleaning and dressing both wounds and he was done in no time. Zhangjing was scared that the other man would leave after he was done but Yanjun didn’t.</p><p>He took a seat in front of Zhangjing and just stared at Zhangjing from there without saying anything. Yanjun didn’t need to say anything but Zhangjing understands that he was just worried.</p><p>Zhangjing was glad that though they had ‘broken up’, Yanjun still actually cared about him which actually made Zhangjing even more confused. If Yanjun still had feelings for him then why did he break up with him?</p><p>“Yanjun,” Zhangjing began, gaining the other man’s attention. Yanjun just stared at him, a silent gesture that said ‘you can continue’.</p><p>“Have you been cheating on me?”</p><p>To Zhangjing’s surprise, Yanjun actually looked confused at the statement. Zhangjing had expected Yanjun to look either shocked or guilty because he was caught.</p><p>He never the other man to actually be confused.</p><p>“No?”</p><p>Yanjun answered. He still on that lost<sup>TM</sup> expression on his face as he spoke.</p><p>“Then why did you break up with me?”</p><p>Zhangjing suddenly felt like he was about to cry. If Yanjun didn’t break up with him because he had someone else then was he simply bored of Zhangjing? Or did he just lose feelings?</p><p>“I did that for your own good,” Yanjun quickly said as he sensed Zhangjing’s distress.</p><p>“My own good? Explain please,” Zhangjing said in annoyance, all the previous sadness immediately evaporated. What kind of cliché tv show bullshit is that?</p><p>“I-I,” Yanjun stuttered as he played with the beanie on his head. Now that it was mentioned, why the fuck is Yanjun wearing a damn beanie in the middle of summer.</p><p>“Yanjun why are you wearing a beanie in the middle of summer?” The question unconsciously slipped out of Zhangjing’s mouth and Yanjun immediately froze at the statement. What is going on with that beanie?</p><p>“I guess I really have to show you. I never plan on letting you see this which is why I left,”</p><p>Okay what the hell is going on. Zhangjing was genuinely confused. Yanjun acted like he was some sort of cancer patient.</p><p>Oh, wait fuck how if he is and the beanie is to cover his missing hair due to the treatment.</p><p>“Don’t be too shocked okay?” Yanjun warned. He put one of his hand on the beanie and in one swift motion, took the whole accessory off his head.</p><p>Zhangjing had expected to be met with a shiny scalp. Well, he was met with something shiny but it wasn’t Yanjun’s baldness.</p><p>It was his silver hair.</p><p>?????????????</p><p>“What the fuck?” Zhangjing exclaimed angrily. Yanjun left him because he dyed his hair what??? It didn’t make any sense.</p><p>“What do you mean ‘what the fuck?’” Yanjun asked with the same confused tone like Zhangjing just with less anger. Yanjun sounded so genuinely confused that it made Zhangjing angrier.</p><p>“You left me because your hair is silver?!” Zhangjing asked incredulously. He had always known that Yanjun was an idiot BUT NOT THIS MUCH OF AN IDIOT.</p><p>“No! Look closer!” Yanjun said while ducking his head for Zhangjing to see. Zhangjing looked at Yanjun’s silver hair once again and was met with the same confusion as before.</p><p>“I don’t understand?! Lin Yanjun speak clearer,”</p><p>Zhangjing hated it when people didn’t talk to the point. Yanjun liked to do that to tease him but this was not a joking situation.</p><p>“Look closer!”</p><p>“I did!”</p><p>“Closer!”</p><p>“I did!”</p><p>“Then how can you not see it?!”</p><p>Zhangjing grew more and more frustrated by the minute. He wished he could just grab Yanjun;s hair and scream at him.</p><p>So he did.</p><p>“AGH! YOU ZHANGJING LET ME GO,” Yanjun screamed in pain as Zhangjing took a fist of his hair and pulled on them. Zhangjing didn’t plan to bully Yanjun so he immediately let go as soon as the other man started screaming.</p><p>“Alright I will tell you,” Yanjun said while petting his hair carefully. He seemed more scared of losing hair than actually being in pain from the pull.</p><p>“I’m going bald. I don’t want you to see it. People will laugh at you for having a bald boyfriend. So I had to leave,” Yanjun said. Zhangjing didn’t even know whether Yanjun was joking or not but looking at how serious the other man looked, that seemed to be the reason.</p><p>“Three days ago after I bleached my hair, I took a shower and the shower drain was clogged so I opened it to check whether it is your hair like usual but then I found a ridiculously lot of silver hair all tangled up and I-”</p><p>“Lin Yanjun stop,” Zhangjing said, cutting off his boyfriend's ramble. Yanjun sounded more and more ridiculous by the seconds.</p><p>“You are not going bald?”</p><p>Zhangjing didn’t even know what to say anymore. His boyfriend was so stupid omygod.</p><p>“Yes I am!”</p><p>“No you are not?”</p><p>“Yes I am,”</p><p>“No you are not,”</p><p>“Yes I am, look at this spot here,”</p><p>“No you are not, omygod. Lin Yanjun,”</p><p>Zhangjing had never felt so ridiculous all his life. Lin Yanjun, his boyfriend of ten years who was currently pointing out a clearly not bald spot on his head, had broken up for him because he thought Zhangjing would be ridiculed for having a bald boyfriend.</p><p>“Listen Lin Yanjun,” Yanjun finally looked up at Zhangjing. He stopped trying to prove his imaginary baldness at Zhangjing.</p><p>“I had a crush on you back when you were still five years old and mind you, five years old Lin Yanjun still pooped his pants. I also continued to like you when you fell off the bike and landed on a dog’s poop and even when you were in your weird emo phase,”</p><p>Zhangjing just realized that a lot of his childhood memories of Yanjun had involved poop.</p><p>“My point is that no matter what, I will still like you okay? So you don’t get to leave me like that,”</p><p>By the end of Zhangjing’s speech, Yanjun seemed much more relaxed. He was no longer nervous and fidgety like before. He even flashed Zhangjing the Yanjun smile<sup>TM</sup>.</p><p>“Good grief,” Yanjun said. He let out a light laugh in relief, “so are we boyfriends again now?” Yanjun asked, even though he already knew the answer. Of course Zhangjing would say yes.</p><p>“Yes you idiot, I really thought you were cheating on me with Xiao gui,” Zhangjing said. Thinking back, he didn’t realized how idiotic he had sounded. There was no way Xiao gui and Yanjun could have a thing.</p><p>“Why Xiao gui?” Yanjun asked in confusion. God, Zhangjing was too embarrassed to explain to him.</p><p>“Well, he was with you when we called him yesterday and when I see him this morning in the mall, he looked so nervous and fidgety so I can only assume,” Zhangjing’s face turned beet red as he explained. He really should be saying sorry to Xiao gui.</p><p>Yanjun let out another laugh at Zhangjing’s explanation. The audacity of this man knowing Zhangjing wouldn’t get mad at him.</p><p>“I asked him to come to give me advice. He was probably nervous when you met him this morning because I asked him to keep this a secret from you. Poor Gui, I should have bought those wigs myself but I really didn’t expect you to show up in that mall since it was quite far away,” Yanjun started laughing again as he finished his sentence. This whole break up thing was even more ridiculous than Zhengkun’s legendary 5 minute breakup.</p><p>“I’m so embarrassed. Let’s just go home now,” Zhangjing said. He extended his hand out for Yanjun to help him stand up but Yanjun insisted on piggy backing him instead.</p><p>“Hey, where are you going?”</p><p>Zhangjing said when he noticed that Yanjun walked to the direction opposite to where their house.</p><p>“My hotel is nearby, I still have one more night might as well use it,” Zhangjing couldn’t believe that all this time Yanjun was actually staying really close to him. The man was just hard to find because he never came out.</p><p>“Also, hotel is better since someone else will clean up after us in the morning,” Zhangjing slapped Yanjun’s back lightly at the implication but he was lying if he said he didn’t want to do it with Yanjun.</p><p>“I’m injured,”</p><p>“Well, you don’t have to do many things anyway,” that earned Yanjun another joking slap from Zhangjing.</p><p>Zhangjing truly missed this. Just him and Yanjun being together.</p><p>What Linong once said was right, the space in Zhangjing’s arms only belonged to Yanjun and the space in Yanjun’s arms only belonged to Zhangjing.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you so much for reading and once again I apologize if I make some characters a bit too ooc. Please do drop kudos or comments (or both hehe) if you enjoy the content, they really do motivate me a lot!!!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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